Gaby Sanchez
Encyclopedia
Gabriel "Gaby" Sanchez is a Major League Baseball
first baseman
for the Miami Marlins. He bats and throws right-handed. He played college baseball at the University of Miami
.
out of Brito Miami Private School in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft
, but chose to attend the University of Miami
instead. He signed with the Florida Marlins
after they selected him in the 4th round (126th overall) three years later in 2005
.
for the Jamestown Jammers
. He made the Short-Season All-Star game as the designated hitter
for Jamestown, and was also MVP of the All-Star game in the New York-Penn League. In , Sanchez played for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers
where he batted
.317 with 14 home run
s in 55 games before a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque
. In , Sanchez played for Single-A Advanced Jupiter
; he batted .279, but hit only 9 home runs in 133 games. In , he batted .314 with 17 home runs and 92 RBI
for Double-A Carolina
en route to winning the Southern League
MVP award.
On September 14, , Sanchez was called up to the majors and made his debut on September 17. He attended the Marlins' 2009 Spring Training
camp and competed with Jorge Cantu
for the starting first baseman
position; Sanchez struggled in the spring and was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs
.
Entering the following year's spring training, he again had to compete to be the starter at first base. This time, it was with fellow prospect Logan Morrison
. Sanchez earned the job on March 29, 2010 after Morrison was reassigned to the minors. On April 10, 2010, Sanchez hit his first home run of the 2010 season. He had his most successful game so far on June 11 in Interleague play
against the Tampa Bay Rays
, when he had four hits with two home runs and six RBIs.
He was involved in a bench-clearing brawl
in the sixth inning
of a 16–10 victory over the Washington Nationals
at Sun Life Stadium on September 1, 2010. The ill will had spilled over from the previous night when Marlins catcher
Brett Hayes
suffered a dislocated left shoulder
as a result of a collision with Nyjer Morgan
at home plate. A few innings after hitting Morgan with a pitch, Chris Volstad
threw a ball behind him. Morgan charged the mound and delivered a left-handed punch at Volstad. Sanchez, who ran in from his position at first base to defend his teammate, then applied a right-arm
clothesline
to bring Morgan to the ground. Even though he wasn't ejected
from the contest, Sanchez was given a three-game suspension
two days later for his part in the fracas .
He was named to the Baseball America 2010 All-Rookie Team as a DH. He was also named the first baseman on the 2010 Topps
Major League Rookie All-Star Team
.
Sanchez changed his uniform number to 15 before the start of the 2011 season
. He was the lone Marlins player at that year's All-Star Game
.
n immigrants, Sanchez speaks fluent Spanish
and English
. He married Miami Herald sports reporter Judy Erwin in Naples, Florida
on January 9, 2010.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
for the Miami Marlins. He bats and throws right-handed. He played college baseball at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
.
Draft
Sanchez was a 15th round pick (460th overall) of the Seattle MarinersSeattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
out of Brito Miami Private School in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft
2002 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5.This year's draft is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball.-First Round Selections:-Supplemental First Round Compensation Selections:...
, but chose to attend the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
instead. He signed with the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
after they selected him in the 4th round (126th overall) three years later in 2005
2005 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams...
.
Professional career
In his first professional season in , Sanchez played mostly third baseThird Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
for the Jamestown Jammers
Jamestown Jammers
The Jamestown Jammers are a minor league baseball team in Jamestown, New York, United States. The team is the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Miami Marlins and plays in the New York - Penn League...
. He made the Short-Season All-Star game as the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
for Jamestown, and was also MVP of the All-Star game in the New York-Penn League. In , Sanchez played for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers
Greensboro Grasshoppers
The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a minor league baseball team in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA...
where he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.317 with 14 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in 55 games before a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque
Albuquerque Isotopes
The Albuquerque Isotopes are a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers...
. In , Sanchez played for Single-A Advanced Jupiter
Jupiter Hammerheads
The Jupiter Hammerheads are a minor league baseball team based in Jupiter, Florida, named for the hammerhead shark.The team, which plays in the Florida State League, is the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Miami Marlins major-league club....
; he batted .279, but hit only 9 home runs in 133 games. In , he batted .314 with 17 home runs and 92 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
for Double-A Carolina
Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a minor league baseball team based in the eastern suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the Carolina League, are the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club beginning in 2012.-History:...
en route to winning the Southern League
Southern League (baseball)
The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...
MVP award.
On September 14, , Sanchez was called up to the majors and made his debut on September 17. He attended the Marlins' 2009 Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
camp and competed with Jorge Cantu
Jorge Cantú
Jorge Luís Cantú Guzmán is an American professional baseball first baseman.Cantú bats and throws right-handed. He was born in McAllen, Texas, went to Sharyland High School, but was raised and makes his home in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.-Tampa Bay Devil Rays:Cantú was spotted by a scout while...
for the starting first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
position; Sanchez struggled in the spring and was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs
New Orleans Zephyrs
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field....
.
Entering the following year's spring training, he again had to compete to be the starter at first base. This time, it was with fellow prospect Logan Morrison
Logan Morrison
Justis Logan Morrison is a Major League Baseball left fielder for the Miami Marlins. Entering the 2010 baseball season, Morrison was considered by Baseball America to be the #2 prospect in the Marlins farm system, and the #20th overall prospect. He played in the 2010 MLB All-Star Futures Game in...
. Sanchez earned the job on March 29, 2010 after Morrison was reassigned to the minors. On April 10, 2010, Sanchez hit his first home run of the 2010 season. He had his most successful game so far on June 11 in Interleague play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
against the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
, when he had four hits with two home runs and six RBIs.
He was involved in a bench-clearing brawl
Bench-clearing brawl
A bench-clearing brawl, sometimes known as a basebrawl or a rhubarb, is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which every player on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches and charge the playing area in order to fight one...
in the sixth inning
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
of a 16–10 victory over the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
at Sun Life Stadium on September 1, 2010. The ill will had spilled over from the previous night when Marlins catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Brett Hayes
Brett Hayes
Brett Gregory Hayes is a professional baseball catcher for the Miami Marlins.-Personal:...
suffered a dislocated left shoulder
Dislocated shoulder
A dislocated shoulder occurs when the humerus separates from the scapula at the glenohumeral joint. The shoulder joint has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body and as a result is particularly susceptible to dislocation and subluxation. Approximately half of major joint...
as a result of a collision with Nyjer Morgan
Nyjer Morgan
Nyjer Jamid Morgan nicknamed Tony Plush is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers....
at home plate. A few innings after hitting Morgan with a pitch, Chris Volstad
Chris Volstad
Christopher Kenneth Volstad is a right-handed pitcher for the Miami Marlins. He is 6 foot 8 inches and 225 pounds, and is a 2005 graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High School....
threw a ball behind him. Morgan charged the mound and delivered a left-handed punch at Volstad. Sanchez, who ran in from his position at first base to defend his teammate, then applied a right-arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
clothesline
Professional wrestling attacks
Attacking maneuvers are offensive moves in professional wrestling, used to set up an opponent for a submission hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of attacking moves in pro wrestling, and many moves are known by several different names. Professional wrestlers frequently give their...
to bring Morgan to the ground. Even though he wasn't ejected
Ejection (sports)
In sports, an ejection is one of several disqualifying actions assessed to a player or coach by a game official , usually for unsportsmanlike conduct....
from the contest, Sanchez was given a three-game suspension
Suspension (punishment)
Suspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.- Workplace :Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of an organization's policy...
two days later for his part in the fracas .
He was named to the Baseball America 2010 All-Rookie Team as a DH. He was also named the first baseman on the 2010 Topps
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
Major League Rookie All-Star Team
Topps All-Star Rookie Rosters
This is a year-by-year list of the Topps All-Star Rookie teams. Note that players selected for a particular team appear in the following year's set release...
.
Sanchez changed his uniform number to 15 before the start of the 2011 season
2011 Florida Marlins season
The Florida Marlins' 2011 season was the 19th season for the Major League Baseball franchise. This was the final year in which the Marlins played their home games at Sun Life Stadium, as well as the final season for the team under the name "Florida Marlins"....
. He was the lone Marlins player at that year's All-Star Game
2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 82nd in-season exhibition game between the All-Stars of the National League and the American League ; the leagues composing Major League Baseball. The event was held on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, home of the...
.
Personal
The son of CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n immigrants, Sanchez speaks fluent Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He married Miami Herald sports reporter Judy Erwin in Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
on January 9, 2010.